Washer and drier



, May 26, 1925. 1,539,121

' W. O. KIDWELL WASHER AND DRIER Filed June 50, 1924 II unnunrnnnlINVENTOR, William 0. Kfdvye/l %%Aa%m Patented May 26, 1925. y

WILLIAM O. KIDWELL, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

WASHER AND DRIER.

Application filed June 30, 1924. Serial No. 723,217.

To all whomit may concern-fa Be it known that I, WILLIAM O. KIDWELL, acitizen of the United States, residing at Indianapolis, in the county of.Marion and State of Indiana, have invented new and useful Improvementsin \Vashers and Dri ers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to means of washing and then drying clothessulficiently for hanging on the line or immediate ironing, and. theprimary object of my invention is to thoroughly agitate the clothes andforce water in and out of them, and upon completion of the washingprocess, topress the water out of the clothes without having to removethem from the washer orotherwise handle them as has heretofore beennecessary with the customary wringer. Further objects are to avoiddamage to the clothes and to prevent breakage of buttons or mashing ofhooks in either the washing or drying'processes, and I accomplish theseand such other objects as may become apparent in the followingdescription by the means as illustrated. in the accompanying drawing, inwhich I Fig. 1. is a side elevation of my washer and drier withfragments of the outer housing, a section of the crankshaft bracket, anda fragment of the clothes-cylinder re-v moved; Fig. 2, a top plan viewof the same, with one'door partially opened and a fragment of it removedto more fully disclose the relative position of the clothes-cylinder;Fig. 3, an end elevation of the washer and drier with the major portionof the outer housing removed and a vertical section taken through theclothes-cylinder, and showlng the rack bar j in position and the presserplate partially lifted, a portion of the presser plate, clothes-rack,and guide bars being removed to show their relativepositions with therack bar; Fig.4, a-detail view of the rack bar to indicate ithe'methodof attaching it to and detaching it from the presser plate; Fig. '5, ahorizontal section through the clothes-cylinder on the line 5-5 in Fig.1; 6, a fragmentary detail to indicate the met 0d of holding the clothesrack above the presser plate; and "Fig. 7, a detail of-the dogarrangement to prevent the clothes from dropping back into the waterafter being dried: and Fig. 8, a side elevation of a modification of aclothes-cylinder shown as formed of annular rods supported by outside,vertical rods.

Like characters of reference, indicate like parts throughout the severalviews.

I form a housing 6 of such proportions as to permit a clothes-cylinder 7to be inserted within the housing, ivotally secured I therein to thehousing wa ls by the trunnions 8 and 9, whereby the clothes-cylinder maybe completely rotated about the axes of the trunnions without contactingthe housing walls. The housing 6 is adapted hold water and is supportedby the legs 10 I y The clothes-cylinder 7 here shown as a perforatedcylinder may be made of any reticulated material such as interwoven rodsor wire, to permit the free inflow and outflow of water between thehousing 6 and the clothes-cylinder 7 and still retain clothes within theclothes-cylinder. A bottomplate 11, likewise perforate or reticulate ispermanently secured to the clothescylinder 7 and centrally andvertlcally supports the rack-bar guide composed of the two separatedsemi-circular guide bars 12, a cross-section through which is to be seenin-Fig. 5. The guide bars 12 project above the top of theclothes-cylinder substantially to the under sides of the housingenclosing doors 13, but of suchlength as will permit clearance of theends of the bars 12 and the housing 6 as the clothes-cylinder iscompletely revolved.

To retain the clothes within the clothescylinder- 7 upon turning thecylinder, I fit a top lid 14: over the cylinder 7 which is there securedby means of the spring catches 15 engaging over the rolled projectingrim 16 of the lid. The lid 14 is provi ed with a central hole as. topermit the guide bars 12 to extend therethrough and be supportedthereby. I

I mount the brackets 17 and21, on the housing 6 to project upwardly toreceive the crankshaft 18 and the guideshaft 19, bothextendingtransversely across and above the housing 6, such that thedoors 13 may slide and be at a substantial distance thereunder. Thedoors 13 are slidingly retained on the housing 6 by means of the cleats20 above and below the doors so that considerable up- A circular wardpressure from the under side of the doors will not displace them.

On the end of the crankshaft 18 projecting outwardly beyond the bracket17 is secured the hand-crank 22, and on the same side of the bracket 17,the dog Wheel 23 is secured to the crankshaft so as to contact thebracket 17 by its side face. A dog 43 is pivotally retained on the endof the guide shaft 19 so as to engage with the dog wheel 23 as'in Fig.7, when desired to arrest the clockwise rotation of the crankshaft 18.On the opposite end of the crankshaft18 is secured a drive pulley 24 sothat the crankshaft may be revolved by power such as a belt drivingelectric motor or gas engine in place of being hand operated by thecrank 22. Between the pulley 24 and the bracket 21, I secure the drivinggear 25 to the crankshaft 18, and between the two brackets 17' and 21, Irigidly mount the rack-bar gear 26 on the crankshaft 18, the relativepositions of the gears 25 and 26 and the brackets 17 and 21 being suchthat by sliding the crankshaft 18 endwise tothe left as in Fig.

3, through the brackets 17 and 21, the rackbar gear 26 engages withrack-bar 27 and the drive-gear 25 is disengaged and held out of meshaway from the intermediate gear 28 mounted on the side of the housing 6which meshes permanently with the clothes-cylinder gear 29 secured tothe cylinder trunnion 9 which projects through to the outsideof thehousing. This position of the crankshaft as described is maintained bymeans of the collar 30 secured to the crankshaft 18 being engaged by thespring latch 31. By sliding the crankshaft to the right, (Fig. 3) thelatch 31 is sprung down, the collar 30 slipped over it and held by it soas to retain the collar 30 in contact with the bracket 17, in whichposition of the crankshaft, the gear 26 is out of mesh with the rack-bar27 and the gear 25 isin"mcshwith"the gear 28,

such that in this latter position of the crankshaft 18, the shaft may beturned to cause a. corresponding rotation of the clothes-cylinder 7.

resser plate 32 is normally held slightly a ove the bottom plate 11 andis formed with semi-circular sections removedabout its center so as toslide freely up and'down the two guide bars 12 as they extend throughthese removed sections, the

rack 33 and the presser plate 32. The presser plate 32 is reduced indiameter so as to and is entered into the space between the twoguide-bars 12. The lower end of the rack-bar 27 is provided with arestricted neck 36 to which is appended a locking foot 37 adapted topass closely through the slot 38 in' the presser-plate 32 as in Fig. 4.By turning the rack-bar 27, the foot 37 is turned crosswise of the slot38 as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 4, and so secured bycontacting the underside of the presser plate, at the same timepresenting the tooth side of the rack-bar 27 withinthe space left ope"between the two guide bars. 12, and also bringing the tooth side of therack-bar 27 to mesh with the gear 26. As the rack-bar 27 fits ratherloosely within the guide-bars 12, it is necessary to provide means ofmaintaining the rack-bar in proper contact with the gear 26.

Such means, I provide by hinging the roller bracket 39 is provided withdownwardly depending flanges to support the bracket 39 and turning thebar 27 to disengage its foot 37 from the presserplate 32. The crankshaft18 is shifted to the right (Fig. 3) and the clothes-cylinder 7 broughtto an upright position, the doors 13 each slid outwardly, and the lid 14removed by pressing the catches 15 outwardly. The clothes to be washedare then placed in the clothescylinder 7, and Water placed in thehousing 6 to the approximate water level 44 as indicated in Fig. 1. Theusual soap or washing powder is previously mixed in the water, or may beincorporated in the water by further action of the device. The top lid14 is then returned and pressed into posltion, the doors 13 closed, andthe crankshaft 18 revolved by the crank 22 or the pulley 24, so as tocause the corresponding revolution of the clothes-cylinder 7.

When the clothes are sufliciently cleansed .roller bracket 39 on theguide-shaft 19. The

by this process, the crankshaft 18 is stopped and slid to the left, asin Fig. 3, the roller bracket 39 raised, the rack-bar 27 inserted. andengaged to the presser-plate 32, and the roller-bracket 39 then droppedinto position against the rack-bar 27. The crank shaft 18 is thenrevolved anti-clockwise so as to lift the rack-bar 27 by means of thegear 26, thereby lifting the presser-plate 32, and

in turn, the clothes rack 33 with the clothes resting thereon andpressing the clothes against the top lid 14, until, as the rack-barcontinues travelling upward, the presserplate 32 presses the clothes sotightly against the lid 14 as to overcome the hold of the spring catches15 with the result that the lid 14 is forced upwardly against the underside of the doors 13 and the clothes are further thereon pressed by thecontinued travel of the rack-bar 27 and presser plate 32' untilsuflicient pressure is exerted on the clothes to squeeze out the desiredamount of water, at which point the dog 43 is dropped onto the dog wheel23 to prevent downward travel of the rack-bar 27 when the power isremoved from turning the crankshaft 18. The clothes are so held abovethe water. line 44 in the housing, andthe doors, 13 may then be slid outwithout damage to the clothes as the lid 14 bears-between the clothesand the under sides of the doors; whereupon the clothes are immediatelyaccessible by removing the lid 14. The clothes-rack 33 is provided forthe purpose of holding the clothes up and away from the presser-plate 32so that any clothes possibly entering the narrow slot like openingbetween the guide-bars 12 will'not be caught by the rack-bar foot 37 asit is inserted in the. presser-plate 32.

By using the clothes-cylinder or receptacle shown in Fig. 8 as beingconstructed of annular rods, a wash board effect is obtained as; theclothestumble and fall from one end of the receptacle to the other andthe water in the housing is eifectively forced through the clothes asthe receptacle is revolved.

Having fully described my invention in the form now best known to me, Idesire to set out that it is obviously capable of assuming variousstructural forms as placing the gears driving the clothes-cylinderwithin, the housing, using a worm gear to raise the rack bar, and othermodifications, without departing from the spirit of the invention, andwhat I claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patentis:

1. In a washing machine, ahousing, a clothes receptacle mounted withinthe housing, said receptacle having a fixed bottom and a detachable top,a guide centrally mounted within and secured to the bottom of saidreceptacle, a presser plate slidingly carried on said guide, anddetachable means of drawing said presser plate upwardly along saidguide.

2. In awashing machine, a housing, a-

clothes receptacle carried within the housing, said. receptacle having-a fixed bottom and a detachable top, a guide centrally .mounted withinand secured to the bottom of said receptacle, a presser plate slidinglycarried on said guide, a clothes-rackslidingly fitted around said guide,plurality of clothes rack rests secured to the walls of said receptacle,said rests .normallyholding said rack at a substantial distance abovesaid 7 presser plate when said plate-is in its lowest position on saidguide, and detachable means of raising said presser plate. and said rackupwardly along said guide.

In \a Washing machine, a water retaining housing. a clothes receptaclemounted within said housing, said receptacle having a fixed bottomancl-a'detacha'ble top, a guide ved to mesh with. said rack-bar, andlocking means to prevent the dropping of said rackbar when in a raisedposition.

4. In a washing machine, a water retaining housing, a clothes receptaclewithin said housing, a detachable lid on said receptacle, a guidesecured within said receptacle, a presser plate slidingly carried bysaid guide and provided with a slot, a presserv plate lift IOU baradapted to be directed by said guide to said slot in said presser plate,a foot on said lift bar adapted to be inserted through the slot in saidpresser plate and retained therebelow by turning said lift bar on itsaxis to place said foot crosswise of the slot,

a drive shaft mounted on said housing, gear means on said driveshaftadapted to engage selectively said lift bar, a dog wheel mounted. onsaid driveshaft, and a dog removably engaging with said wheel to preventthe dropping back of said lift bar.

5. In a washing machine, a water retaining housing, a clothes receptaclewithin said housing, a removable doorin said housing, a guide secured insaid receptacle, a removable bar adapted to be aligned by said guide, apresser plate slidingly directed by said guide and adapted to be engagedby said bar, a driveshaft mounted on said housing, gear means carried bysaid driveshaft adapted to be removably engaged with said bar wherebysaid presser plate may be raised by said lift bar by operating saiddriveshaft for the purpose of compressing clothes in said I receptacleagainst said removable door, and

means for holding said bar at any desired elevation.

6. In a washing machine, a water retaining housing, a clothes receptaclewithin said housing, a driveshaft carried on said housing, a detachablelid on said receptacle, catches holding said lid on said receptacle, aremovable door in said housing, a presser plate fitting within saidreceptacle, lifting means cooperating with said presser plate, saidlifting means also engaging with said driveshaft whereby said presserplate may be raised by applying power to said driveshaft, the continuedraising'of said presser plate causing sufiicie'nt pressure to beexerted'cn said detachable lid to overcome the hold of said catcheswhereby the catches release said lid and permit it to be pressed againstsaid door, and removable locking means to revent the dropping back ofsaid presser p ate upon removal of power from the driveshaft.

7; In a washer and drier, a housing, removable doors in said housing aguide socured in said housing, a bar adapted to be aligned by saidguide, a presser plate slidingly engaging with said guide and adapted tobe detachably secured to said bar, a driveshaft mounted'on said housing,gear means carried by said driveshaft adapted to be removably engagedwith said bar for the purpose of raising said bar and said presser plateto compress clothes between said presser plate and said i emovabledoors, means 7 cooperating with said driveshaft to hold said bar at anydesired elevation, and removable bar retaining means whereby said bar isheld in engagement with said driveshaft gear means, said removable barretaining means being adapted to releasesaid bar to permit lateral androtative movement of. said bar.

. 8. In a washer and drier, a housing, re movable doors in said housing,a guide secured in said housing, a bar adapted to be aligned by saidguide, a presser plate slidingly engaging with said guide and adapted tobe detachably' secured to said bar, a driveshaft mounted on saidhousing, gear means carried by said driveshaft adapted to be re.-

movably engagedwith said bar for the pur pose of raising said bar andsaid presser plate to compress clothes between said presser plate andsaid removable doors, means cooperating with said driveshaft to holdsaid bar at any desired elevation, a guide shaft, a roller brackethinged by one end in said guide shaft straddling said bar and hooking byits other end over said driveshaft, and a roller carried by said rollerbracket adapted to contact said bar and hold it in en agement with saiddriveshaft gear means, the axis of said roller being below the linebetween the axes of the guide shaft and the driveshaft.

Signed at Indianapolis, county of Marion,

State of Indiana, this the 26th day of J mm,

WILLIAM 0.- KIDWELL.

